Important Upcoming Dates
Tue, Aug 8 - Meet the Teacher - 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Thu, Aug 10 - First Day of School
Thu, Aug 10 - Sports Physical Night - 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Mon, Aug 14 - Soccer Tryouts begin - must have a sports physical on file
A New Year Begins!
We look forward to welcoming our students and families to Meet the Teacher on Tuesday between 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Student schedules will be available on Skyward and students should check on Tuesday to see their classes and locations. If a student's schedule needs to be changed, a form will be available to request this change. If a student cannot find their schedule on Skyward, assistance will be available in the media center during Meet the Teacher.
Parking for Meet the Teacher will be available in the school parking lot, bus loop, and grassy area inside the bus loop. If parking in the bus loop, please do not block the entry and exit ramps to the grassy area inside the bus loop.
If your child rides a bus, routes and pickup locations can be found by entering your address at this link. OCPS is currently experiencing a bus driver shortage, so pickup and drop off times for bus riders have been adjusted. Please note that Transportation Services has indicated buses may not release from our school until as late as 4:45 pm (3:45 pm on Wednesdays) which then puts some students not arriving home until after 5:00 pm (4:00 pm on Wednesdays).
General school supply lists can be found on our school website or by clicking this link. Some teachers may request additional supplies and students will be notified during the first days of school.
It is very important for parents to complete the online parent forms found in Skyward. Instructions for completing these mandatory forms can be found later in this newsletter. Paper copies will also be sent home for those who prefer a paper method.
Should you ever have questions, please reach out and I will be happy to help.
Jeff Aldridge
jeffrey.aldridge@ocps.net
Welcome Back!
Here are some general reminders as we approach the first day of school:
Traffic will be a challenge for the first few days. Please be patient as everyone becomes familiar with drop-off and pick-up procedures. It will get better as time goes on.
Students should not be dropped off or picked up in the parking lot or bus entrance road. Drop-off and pick-up is only at the front of the school.
School starts at 9:25 am and students can enter campus at 9:00am.
Dismissal is at 4:04 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and at 2:54 pm on Wednesday.
Students should be reminded to only cross at crosswalks. No student should ever cross Woodbury or Lake Underhill without using one of the crosswalks.
Weather Delayed Dismissals
Florida weather often produces afternoon storms that bring heavy rain and lightning at our dismissal time. Please take a few minutes to review our procedures for severe weather dismissal. Although these weather-delayed dismissal procedures lengthen the dismissal process, it ensures the safety of our students which is always our first priority.
Heavy Rain
In the interest of student safety, we will modify our normal dismissal procedures on days with extremely heavy rainfall. Light or moderate rainfall will not impact dismissal procedures.
Car riders and bus riders will be dismissed as normal.
YMCA Afterschool Zone students will be dismissed as normal.
Walkers and bike riders will be held and will wait until the rain stops or slows.
Parents can pick up students if they choose, but Florida weather is very unpredictable and the rain may subside before parents arrive at school. When rain subsides, normal dismissal procedures will begin.
Lightning (with or without rain)
In the event that lightning is present within 30 minutes of our normal dismissal time, we will implement the 30/30 rule, regardless of whether or not it is raining. The 30/30 rule is recognized as a best practice by the national weather service and is implemented throughout most school districts nationwide. This policy is implemented at all Orange County Schools.
All students - car riders, bus riders, walkers and bike riders will be held indoors until 30 minutes have passed since the last lightning strike and thunder clap combination.
If a parent wishes to take their child home, they must get out of their vehicle and come sign out their child. When the lightning subsides, we will resume normal dismissal procedures.
Required Immunizations
All students entering the 7th grade must have the following immunizations on record with the school before beginning classes. Please contact our registrar, Shannon Hettenbach, if you have any questions.
DTaP Series (Note: If the final dose was administered before 4 years of age, an additional dose is required.)
1 dose of Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (T dap)*
Polio Series*
Hepatitis B Series
2 doses of Measles, Mumps. Rubella (MMR)
2 doses of Varicella (Chickenpox
* Note: If the final dose was administered before 4 years of age, then an additional dose is required. A 4th dose is not required if the 3rd dose was administered at 4 years of age or older. If the 4th dose was administered prior to the fourth birthday, a 5th dose of Polio is required.
Skyward
Skyward is the Student Information System used by OCPS. Parents can access Skyward to check grades, daily attendance, and test scores such as FAST. Parents must register for a Skyward account using a cell phone number or email (these numbers/email addresses must also match what our school has on file in the system). Each parent can register for their own account and setup is only required once. Instructions for registering can be found at parents.classlink.com/ocps.
Student schedules can be found in Skyward, but counselors are continuing to update and balance classes. Student schedules can change before Meet the Teacher on Tuesday, August 8th.
Annual Online Parent Forms
The Skyward Family Access Portal has an Online Forms tab when accessed from a desktop or laptop. Online Forms that parents and guardians need to complete can be found in the Online Forms tab. Online Forms can also be located from the Wall in Skyward Family Access. Parents and guardians will be able to complete and submit the Parent Consent Form and Device Refusal Form from the Online Forms Tab or the Wall.
Parent Consent Form (PCF)—REQUIRED
• Important legislative changes make completion of this form online by parents/guardians imperative.
• The PCF provides parents/legal guardians with the right to make important decisions involving how their child can use available technology resources, how the district uses available media of their child, what personally identifiable information is released about their child, and whether students will participant in school clinic services, health screenings, and mental health services.
• This form MUST be completed by each parent/guardian to access clinic services, health
screenings, and other student services.
o A parent must elect to opt in to each individual service.
o For example, if the Skyward Parent Consent Form were not completed to supply consent for the school’s clinic services, and your child needs to visit the school clinic, then the school clinic will be unable to treat your child and the parent/guardian will be contacted, except in the case of an emergency. In the case of an emergency, the parent/guardian and appropriate emergency personnel will be contacted.
Parents/guardians must complete the PCF as soon as possible, but no later than ten days after the start of the school year and/or entry.
Device Refusal Form—OPTIONAL
• Should be used by any parent/guardian who does not want to accept a district laptop or tablet for their student.
• In this form, parents will certify that they refuse a district device and indicate whether they prefer to register for the BYOD option where students bring a personally owned device from home or if they prefer traditional curriculum.
• These two options have always existed for families.
Below is the screen showing the location of the online forms in Skyward.
Cell Phones/Wireless Earbuds
On Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 the school board approved the 2023-2024 Code of Student Conduct, which included changes to the district cell phone use policy for students (see page 30). The updates were made as a result of the feedback received from educators, parents, and the OCPS Discipline Task Force. The changes reflect the input and complies with new state legislation (HB 379), which took effect July 1. While statutes do not allow the use of a communication device during the instructional day, OCPS policy allows for students to possess a cell phone while on campus as long as it is silent and in a backpack or purse. Exceptions will be made for students with an IEP/504 or other reasons related to health or personal welfare which must be approved by school administration. In addition, the rule applies to watches, ear buds and other such devices. While the Code of Student Conduct identifies discipline associated with a violation, there will be a grace period at the beginning of the school year to allow time for students and staff to adjust to the changes in the policy. If you have any questions, please contact the school.
At no time shall OCPS be responsible for theft, loss or damage to cell phones or other electronic devices brought onto its property.
Student Devices
All students at Discovery Middle will be issued a laptop for use at school and home*. This year, students will receive brand new devices and will keep the same device for the duration of their enrollment at our school. Students are responsible for their device and must take care not to damage it. Should a non-warranty repair be needed, OCPS will use the following fee structure and the student/parent/guardian will be the responsible party:
1st Incident - $25
2nd Incident - $50
3rd (and forward incident) - *Depreciated value - see fees below
*Years from Purchase Replacement Cost:
Year 1 - $550
Year 2 - $400
Year 3 - $250
Year 4 - $100
Device checkout will occur during the first three days of school.
*Students have the option of choosing to bring their own device to school daily rather than receiving an OCPS device. If you choose this option, you must complete the Device Refusal Form on Skyward and make sure your student's device meets the appropriate specifications.
Middle School Sports
OCPS offers competitive middle school seasons allowing Discovery Middle School students to compete against other middle schools across the district. To be eligible to try out for our sports teams, a student must have a 2.0 GPA and must have a sports physical on file with the athletic department using the online platform. Sports seasons run each quarter and begin with soccer in August. Volleyball is played during the 2nd quarter, followed by basketball during the 3rd quarter and track and field during the 4th quarter. Once a sports physical has been submitted for the year, a student can try out for all sports thereafter.
We will host a sports physical night on Thursday, August 10th between 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. A doctor will be onsite to provide sports physicals at a cost of $35.
Click here to download a sports physical packet. Once the sports physical is complete, parents/guardians must register for an account to upload the physical to the online platform (www.aktivate.com). This registration link is https://www.registermyathlete.com/login/login.accountInfo. This process is new for all middle school athletes in OCPS.
Soccer Tryouts
Soccer tryouts will begin on Monday, August 14th. Students attending tryouts should meet in the gym immediately after school. Students must have a completed physical on file before trying out.
For questions, please contact:
Boys Coach - hoan.ton@ocps.net
Girls Coach - john.peters@ocps.net
Athletic Director - robert.murray@ocps.net
YMCA After School Zone
Discovery is proud to partner with the YMCA of Central Florida to offer an after school program at no cost to our students and families. If you are interested in registering your student for the YMCA program, please visit: https://ymcacf.org/programs/school/middle/registration/
